GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. — A Goochland hemp farmer told the CBS 6 Problems Solvers that Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s changes to a hemp regulation bill aren’t a permanent solution.
Last week, the Republican amended a controversial bill that aimed to crack down on the sale of unregulated synthetic THC producers.
Those unregulated synthetic products have been blamed for a rash of poisonings in Virginia children who mistakenly ingest the products, some of which look like gummies or candy.
Goochland County hemp farmer Reed Anderson previously told CBS 6’s Brendan King the bills passed by the General Assembly would have put him out of business.
Anderson operates kame Naturals and sells CBD oils after his parents complained about ailments without solutions.
The bills first passed by the legislature would cap the amount THC included in hemp-derived products at two milligrams. THC and CBD are naturally occurring in hemp, but the levels of THC are low, and CBD is not intoxicating.
Amendments handed down by the Governor would allow for products to contain more than the two milligrams per package limit if the amount of CBD in the product is greater than the level of THC by a ratio of 25 to 1.
Anderson said Youngkin’s amendments mean he can keep his business and all but one of his CBD oil producers are legal to sell.
However, he feared the constant legislative changes would leave the hemp industry fighting for survival year after year.
“The unfortunate piece to all of this is that I don't think this is all going to get resolved this year. I think we're going to be back at it again next year. I'd really like to see Governor Youngkin can maybe bring in a panel of local hemp farmers and retailers and talk through this to make sensible choices,” Anderson explained.
Youngkin’s amendments are currently in discussion in the House of Delegates.
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